Help thirteen remarkable Syrian refugee women bring their extraordinary stories of war, loss and bitter exile in Jordan to theatres around the UK this summer.

UPDATE 20/07/16 - WE ARE STILL TRYING TO RAISE THE LAST BIT OF FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT. PLEASE SUPPORT US ANY WAY YOU CAN!

THE PROJECT

We are raising money to bring 13 Syrian refugee women from Jordan to the UK to perform their groundbreaking play, ‘Queens of Syria’. Amalgamating Euripides’ 'Trojan Women' with their own accounts of horrific war & bitter exile, the production will tour the UK for 3 weeks from 5-24 July before playing to the refugee community in Amman, Jordan

This is a life-changing opportunity for the women & an eye-opening experience for British audiences who will hear, first hand, the harsh realities of life in exile. The tour will follow a month long workshop programme in Jordan; theatre will provide these extraordinary women with a transformative opportunity for self-expression. In conjunction with the project the British Council will run an extensive education & outreach programme.Your support will enable these refugees to be paid as artists, fund drama workshops & a children's creche in Jordan, & help cover the visa & travel costs to the UK.

PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO ON THE RIGHT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT FROM THE CAST THEMSELVES!

Developing Artists is a unique UK registered charity (No: 1121604) working to support the arts in post-conflict nations and deprived communities.

Together with Refuge Productions and London's Young Vic Theatre we are bringing fourteen extraordinary women to the UK to perform Queens of Syria, a verbatim theatre piece they created from their own real-life stories, and the 2,500 year-old Ancient Greek tragedy The Trojan Women.

PROJECT AIMS

• To educate and inform the British public, through first hand testimony, about the situation on the ground in Syria, and the plight facing millions of refugees as they flee to neighbouring countries and towards Europe.

• To provide a platform in the UK for a group of ordinary Syrian women to make their voices heard and to tell their own personal stories to a public audience.

• To 'humanise' the audience' perception of refugees and the refugee crisis by incorporating personal testimony and real life stories performed by those who have experienced them into a fictional theatre play

• To build a sustainable community arts project in Jordan by connecting refugees with an international network of artists, trainers and arts organisations, deepening existing relations with the local Jordanian arts community.

• To create a number of international training opportunities through Developing Artists’ Apprenticeship Scheme thus enhancing the refugee’s skills and their international contact base.

WHY ARE WE LOOKING FOR FUNDING?

The team behind this project have been immensely frustrated by the media coverage of the Syrian conflict and subsequent refugee crisis, and so we want to bring real, ordinary women who have experienced it first hand, to the UK to tell us their stories.

The costs involved re-staging the show in Jordan for the local community, and in bringing the company over to the UK are significant, and cannot be covered by ticket sales. Developing Artists must raise substantial funds to bring this inspiring and life-changing production to the UK.

UPDATE - WE ARE STILL TRYING TO RAISE THE LAST BIT OF FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT. PLEASE SUPPORT US ANY WAY YOU CAN!

WHAT IS YOUR MONEY BEING SPENT ON?

• A fund for the Syrian refugees to pay them for their work, putting money back into the Syrian refugee community.

• Psycho-social support for the refugees.

• Theraputic drama workshops in Amman.

• A child care centre throughout workshops in Jordan.

• Travel, legal and visa costs for the refugee cast to enable them to come to the UK• Accomodation, food and other costs for our Syrian refugee cast in the UK.